Le bonheur des belges!

Quel Bonheur de revoir mon pays, mais également de le faire découvrir à mes deux coéquipiers!

Notre travail a été facilité par une étude menée par Coca-Cola Belgique avant notre arrivée. Selon eux, il y aurait cinq thèmes qui reviennent le plus souvent lorsqu’on demande aux Belges ce qu’est le bonheur pour eux. Ce sont des réponses que nous avons déjà beaucoup entendues depuis le début de notre expédition : la famille et les amis, les petits moments du quotidien, le sport, le bénévolat et le voyage. Même si les réponses sont souvent semblables, c’est dans la façon d’exprimer de vivre ce bonheur qui diffère. Les explications des Belges ont été variées mais je peux dire que ce qui les touche le plus ce sont les moments passés en famille ou avec les amis. Boire un petit verre avec les potes ou se promener au parc en famille peuvent paraître très simples.

Pourtant c’est souvent dans ces moments là que nous vivons des instants de pur bonheur sans nous en rendre compte.

Ce qui m’a également intéressé c’est l’amour du belge pour le voyage et surtout la découverte. Plus d’une personne m’ont confié que c’est surtout l’envie de vivre autre chose, de découvrir une autre culture, de voir du paysage inconnu qui les pousse à voyager.

Jusque là nous n’avions pas encore rencontré un tel amour pour le voyage.

Cette dame extraordinaire a choisi le bénévolat comme source de bonheur. Elle dit que son bonheur se trouve dans dans les petits moments comme le visage des enfants défavorisés lorsqu'ils recoivent des vêtements et des jouets.

Tant que nous sommes dans les traditions touristiques autant se faire plaisir avec une bonne gaufre!

Pour faire découvrir Bruxelles aux garçons Il fallait que je les amènent au Delirium, le bar qui bat le record du monde en nombre de bières de partout dans le monde. Ça collait bien! Tradition oblige, nous avons laissé notre trace sur ce billet d'un Dollar qui sera collé sur le mur.

Pour faire découvrir Bruxelles aux garçons Il fallait que je les amènent au Delirium, le bar qui bat le record du monde en nombre de bières de partout dans le monde. Ça collait bien! Tradition oblige, nous avons laissé notre trace sur ce billet d'un Dollar qui sera collé sur le mur.

As we arrived under the rain of Amsterdam, the weather difference was quite a shock to our systems!  Nonetheless we set out to discover the city and meet the people hiding under their umbrellas to find out what makes the Dutch happy.

As we had a typical lunch of ‘kroketten’ and a hot chocolate we noticed an article in the local paper announcing that that particular day was decreed as ‘National Compliment Day’. ‘This could get interesting’ we thought!

So off we went to throw around compliments to everyone we saw. The reactions were very diverse… Some people blushed and shied away.

Others laughed and took it in good spirit. And then there were those who had no idea how to react. Apparently the Dutch are not very big on giving compliments. That would explain way the government made a national day to encourage them! The people we met said that the Dutch are very honest people and do not take compliments lightly.

A brother and sister duo refused to complement each other. They were funny about it though! The sister would say ‘you can say my scarf is pretty…’ ‘No, he answered, it’s not.’

We took it as our mission to put smiles on people’s faces by surprising them with compliments and then encourage them to spread the friendliness by randomly choosing another person to compliment. ‘I love your hat!’, ‘your hair is nice’, ‘You have very hot boots’, ‘you have a lovely smile’, ‘your eyes are sparkling!’ So many simple sentences that made people genuinely happy for the day.

We learnt that it doesn’t take a lot to put a smile on someone’s face and it’s those little moments that can make your day.  As we had the interviewees say something nice to another person it also showed them how they could influence someone else’s life even for just a second.

Landing in Paraguay I realized I knew nothing about this country. Maybe the name and a vague connection to football (or soccer for those who think I’m talking about oval balls and touchdowns)  So, ashamed of my ignorance I lowered my head when I told my hosts the awful truth. ‘Oh that’s ok !’ they said, ‘Paraguay is not known for it’s touristic popularity. But we’re here to tell you about the country!’

I then paid close attention as I was told how the country used to be very prosperous but was devastated by a long and arduous war in the 19th century with it’s neighboring countries that left them with only a fourth of their male inhabitants.  Today, Paraguay is a country still very much untouched by the tourist industry. There are thus still many native tribes, ‘some of which have never come into contact with the white man’ according to Grizzy my interpreter. 

This cultural richness can be seen in the art of Paraguay.  To prove it, I was taken to Aragua a popular town for artists and bohemians. Of course by then a tropical deluge was falling down on us so between running from car to shelter I didn’t get to see the place in it’s usual splendor.  This was made up by the welcoming nature of the people who were so eager to share their culture. All over you can find the typical pottery and wood sculptures made by locals. The strange thing is that many of these artists are world-renowned and are exhibited in places like New York and London. But these people still live in their typical colonial houses along the lake of Aragua and choose to live very simple lives.

Our hosts created these funny caricatures of us complete with accurate detail : Antonio with his camera and Tony with his sunglasses on his head. Hilarious!

This is the Coke bottle made out of clay painted by an english born artist who has been living in Paraguay for the last 40 years. Ysanne Gayet.

Happiness was not hard to find in this friendly place. Carlos, a local artist told me he expressed his happiness through drawing. He then grabbed a piece of paper and drew a picture for me on the spot. He called it : ‘A fruit bowl on a Sunday morning’ as it symbolizes the simple things in life that bring a smile to one’s face.   

The other side of happiness here in Paraguay is definitely music.

I enjoyed typical music from Paraguay by the local band Los Hechiceros Guaranies. They sing in spanish and in guarani, the native language.

“Santiago va a Santiago?”- Así me preguntó una persona de la línea aérea, bromeando porque mi apellido es idéntico al nombre de la capital de Chile.  Al llegar tuvimos la oportunidad de conocer una ciudad con mucho movimiento pero que, a pesar del movimiento, es muy tranquila. Nuestros anfitriones nos compartieron el siguiente dato: es una de las ciudades más tranquilas y seguras de toda Latinoamérica. En cuánto empezamos a hacer nuestras entrevistas nos dimos cuenta de lo accesibles que son los chilenos. Las personas que íbamos encontrándonos estaban más que deseosas de compartir con nosotros sus historias. Desde el artista plástico que nos dijo que lo que más feliz le hacía era poder crear y compartir su arte; pasando por la señora (de origen humilde) que nos dijo que a falta de dinero para poder viajar trabajar en un puesto callejero le permitía conocer a personas de diversas culturas, provenientes de todo el mundo; hasta el inteligentísimo niño de dos años que, con una sonrisa de oreja a oreja, correteaba las palomas y decía: “mis cosas favoritas son las palooooomas!”.

To this sir happiness is art! He's an artist and you can see his 
paintings!

To this lady happiness is meeting people at her stand. She says she's 
poor and she can't afford to travel but this way she's able to meet 
people from different cultures.

What makes Chile a happy place to live? According to this girl Natalia 
it's because of the different seasons the country offers. As opposed 
to other South American countries Chile has four distinct seasons.

Well, we are just past one month on this journey around the world and to describe it so far as epic would be a massive understatement.  People always ask us what we expect to find in each country, what we expect to discover.  I try to explain to them that every encounter is a surprise.  Every country we land in, every corner we turn and every day that we adventure, we discover something new, we are surprised with something unexpected and we are blown away by something unbelievable.  Today in Ecuador was the perfect example of how this entire trip has been one 'best day of my life' after another.  Today, a joke I made turned into one of the best moments ever!  It was the epitome of the Expedition 206 experience.

I promised myself long ago that I would always be a kid at heart.  I think you can see it in the way that I explore life.  So when we set off to the rain forest of Ecuador this morning, you could say that I was as happy as a kid in a candy store.  There was a steady rain coming down as we started our trek into the forest.  For me, that just added to the atmosphere, I mean, what's a rain forest without the rain?  It also did a great job of keeping the mosquitos away. 

Our guide was super energetic and he had the bounce in his step of a child as he skipped, hopped and ran through the trail.  Once he saw that I enjoyed this too, he made a game of it, seeing if I could follow in his footsteps, which I did adeptly.  I was as surefooted as a goat!  Baaaaaaa!  We got so far ahead of the others at points that we'd often have to wait for them and we would spend that time talking about the amazing plants and wildlife around us.  I felt like a kid, exploring something new, soaking in the experience with fresh eyes, drinking it all in.  I enjoyed the rich forest smell, I relished in the sight of every leaf and I often stopped to marvel at the many strange bugs.  I was in an alien world, alien to me at least, and I made sure to enjoy every second. 

Eventually we made it to a small rickety bridge.  Our guide turned to tell us to make sure we held onto the rope and no sooner than he said it, Antonio slipped, legs flying over the edge with his back landing hard on the slippery wood.  Actually, the only thing that kept him with the group and not sliding down a river was the fact that he'd followed the guides advice a split second earlier and grabbed the bridge.  I tried to get him to do it again so I could film it but, no dice. 

The bridge led to a dead end that held a small waterfall, maybe twenty to thirty feet high with a pool under it that feed the fast rapids that ran under the bridge.  We all stopped to take in the beauty, being surrounded by high rocks and rain forest, standing in front of this waterfall in the rain in Ecuador.  The feeling was surreal.  This is when things took one of those 'Expedition 206 unexpected turns.'

Me being the funny man I am, I joked to the tour guide, "Hey, wanna go for a swim?"  The dude immediately started taking his flippin' clothes off!  I mean, it was a joke... a real joke, like ha ha, funny joke.  Yeah, let's swim in this cold water in the middle of the pouring rain, in the middle of the rain forest, while we've got rapids running under the bridge that lead down a steep slope that disappears into the mist... and yeah, actually, that mist is a cloud, really, because we're that friggin far up in the mountains that clouds appear on the ground.  Yet, our guide doesn't catch my sarcasm and the dude is still taking off his shoes.  He looks at my ghost white face and our ensuing conversation goes something like this:

Guide: "Ah, you're just joking me.."  With disappointment in his face.

Me: "Umm... you're serious?"  With shocked horror in my face.

Guide: "We go for a swim, yes.  You said."  With the 'this is normal stuff' face.

Me: "Umm... you're serious?"  With the continued shocked horror mixed with some 'this dude is nuts' face.

Guide: "Ah, you're just joking me..."  With complete disappointment in his face.

Me: "Umm.. no... Umm.. I'm serious..."  With the 'I'm no wuss, but is this dude serious?' face.

Guide: "You're joking me..."  Still, this dude's face shows extreme disappointment that he won't get to take me into water that will probably wash me away to my death, while it's raining in the middle of a rain forest that has things that would love to eat me for a snack, some of which probably live in this water. 

Me: "You're serious!"  With the face of horror that is mixed with the face that says, "yo dude, if you can do this crazy stuff without blinking, I'm no wuss, I'll do it to."

Me:  "You're serious!?!" this time completely with the, 'I'm no wuss HOMIE' face on. 

Guide: "You're joking me??"  this time with a questioning face that says, 'Don't come now and you're a wuss my man and on top of that, I'll be disappointed at your wussiness.'

Me: "I'm down dog. Let's go." with a determined, 'If this dude can do it, I can do it to because I'm no wuss,' face.

At this point, dude takes off everything but his pants and hops right in the water and starts trudging towards the waterfall.  At that same moment, Antonio turns to me and says, "Tony, look at how fast the water is going man, you can't go in there."  I respond, "If that dude can do it, I can do it too!  I'm no wuss!"  Although, to be honest here, I have to admit that you should substitute all occurrences of wuss with a different word that better describes the emphasis of the situation and how I felt.

So, I stripped down to my shorts and hopped in.  I fought the current out towards the guide and the waterfall and suddenly I fell as the ground dropped from under me.  Actually, the bottom of the water in that little pool just dis-a-friggin-peared.  It always scares me a bit when I can't touch the bottom of water, not because I can't swim, I'm the yellow flipper, I'm just afraid of what's lurking down there.

I swam towards my guide at the waterfall and he assisted me while I submerged myself under the torrent.  It was one of the greatest feelings ever.  Despite everyone's first impression, despite everyone's initial reaction, I was there, under a waterfall, in a rain forest in Ecuador, while it was raining, inside water that I would have NEVER thought about entering under any circumstance.  The feeling was enormous! 

Then the guide started climbing the rock beside the waterfall.  When I looked, although the rock was pretty steep, it offered pretty easy hand holds for climbing up and I followed my guide.  He reached a level that offered a rock to stand on and he looked at me with a smile on his face.  This guy lives this!  This is his home, his house, his playground and he was gifting me with the pleasures of his life.  This was something special and I caught it all in just that look and that smile.  He was thankful that I allowed him this moment, that I wasn't a wuss and that I came with him and gave him another opportunity to play in his playground, despite the pouring rain.  In that moment, I saw it all.  I saw it all in just a look and a smile.  Then he jumped.  It was a perfect dive, right into that deep spot that I fell into before.  I climbed further and stood on top of that rock and relished in the moment.  I stood on that rock like a king, like Mufasa standing on the edge of the cliff looking down at his kingdom.  If I had a small lion at that moment, or even a kitten, I would have thrust it into the air with both arms like the pink butt monkey from the Lion King.  Ah-whem-a-way Ah-whem-a-way, Ah-whem-a-way, AH-wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

I was surrounded by rocks.  I had a waterfall to my left.  There was a deep pool in front of me and rapids beyond that.  Rain forest, trees, animals and bugs I'd never seen, smells of pure earth and green, rain pouring around me, drenching me, running through my hair and dripping from the tips of the curls.  All my dreams, all my desires were there, everything I've worked for, all around me...  I cannot say it was like a dream because I was so self-aware, so in the moment.  I felt everything, EVERYTHING!

And then I jumped.  I could feel single raindrops smashing against my face as I fell through the air, eyes open and fully aware.  At the last moment, I curled up in a classic cannonball and splashed into the deep spot.  When I surfaced, it was triumph.  I looked up at the bridge and I could see Kelly and Antonio desperately pulling their clothes off, eager to come in after me and share in the feelings and emotions that were dramatically splayed all over my face. 

That's what I love most about those two.  Their minds aren't made up.  Although there are things on their do not do list, give them evidence contrary to their beliefs and they will change their minds in an instant.  That shows a lot about a persons character and it makes me proud to share this trip with them.  The three of us, our guide and our translator, Josue, proceeded to leap off of that rock in a variety of styles over and over again, relishing in the moment over and over again.

Before we left, I stood there in the water, absorbing everything around me.  Our guide looked at me again with that smile that said, "Welcome to my world buddy, it's good to have you here and I'm glad we got to share this moment together."  That moment, that day and that surprise, represent the essence of this trip.  We are surprised at every corner, unexpectedly finding the time of our lives around each bend.  We are sharing special moments with temporary friends, people we will never meet again, yet whose memory and company we will treasure for a lifetime.  We could see every site that the world has to offer but it is these special moments of shared happiness with people across the globe that make this trip something extraordinary.  This was the classic moment of us finding and sharing in someone's happiness and it was one of the greatest moments of my life.  I seem to say that a lot on this trip.

Ir a los Juegos Olímpicos de Invierno es toda una experiencia: misma que sólo podemos entender hasta que lo presenciamos con nuestros propios ojos. Los días que estuvimos en Vancouver vimos que se respiraba un ambiente de alegría y de compañerismo entre la gente que habita la ciudad y entre los extranjeros que seguían llegando para presenciar los Juegos. Los deportes tienen la capacidad de hacer eso: de inducir a la gente a un estado positivo. Vancouver es una ciudad muy interesante gracias a la mezcla de diversos grupos humanos -provenientes de todo el mundo- que han llegado para quedarse a habitar. De alguna manera tener un grupo tan diverso ayuda a que la gente aprenda a convivir mejor y, quizás, también determina los ojos con los que la gente mira la felicidad. Pudimos encontrar gente que nos contó sus historias de felicidad: desde una pareja madura que nos dijo, mientras descendían de haber esquiado en una fría y lluviosa mañana, que la felicidad era haberse retirado; hasta la joven punk rocker que nos dijo que lo más feliz que le haría ese día era ver a su hermanita.

Me voici à la cérémonie d'ouverture des Jeux Olympiques d'hiver á Vancouver. Et bien sûr j'agite mon petit drapeau belge pour soutenir notre 'Team Belgium' yeah!
Au fait le poncho blanc n'est pas un choix vestimentaire particulier de ma part mais une obligation pour faire partie des celebrations. Le public joue un rôle assez important. Quel bonheur d'en faire partie!

We're goofing around with some 'happiness inspectors' in a huge Coke tent. This place is so much fun! We get to swim with polar bears, join recycling contests and have an awesome time! All in the name of 'live positively'

This lovely family gave us a little rendition of their very own cheer for their favorite athlete. Sport is definitely the happy word of the day here in Vancouver.

These happy girls gave us a taste of the olympic spirit by sharing their happy cheer : 'go Canada GO!' When asked to describe happiness in one word we got : skiing!

“Uruguay: te ‘conozco’ desde que era pequeño”. Eso iba pensando cuándo el avión, proveniente de Buenos Aires, estaba a punto de tocar la pista de aterrizaje. Pensaba eso porque unos grandes amigos de la familia son uruguayos y siempre había pensado que su forma de ser tan agradable, solidaria y cálida tenía qué ver con el hecho de que provenían de aquel país de Sudamérica. Y, de alguna manera, así fue: logré conocer un país precioso y vibrante que lo es no sólo por sus calles, su playa, sus árboles y demás si no que comprobé de frente que Uruguay es un lugar que tiene gente alegre y amigable, dispuesta a compartir su experiencia de la vida y compartirse. Cualquier pretexto para compartir es bueno: ya sea comiendo un asado, pasando la matera –que cargan en uno de sus brazos-, jugando al futbol o bien caminando por La Rambla o compartiendo en la playa. Esas cosas y muchas otras más unen a los uruguayos en sus momentos de felicidad. Gracias por la infinidad de abrazos que nos dieron.

Con nuestros anfitriones de Uruguay, Manu y Diego, antes de empezar a dar vueltas en una feria que hace felices a chicos y grandes :D

Una ciudad (Buenos Aires) y una estancia (Don Manuel): eso fue lo “poco” que conocimos de Argentina. Pero, cómo ya hemos comprobado con otros viajes, por “poco” que conozcamos de un lugar, es mucho lo que la gente del lugar nos enseña. Una de las primeras cosas que aprendimos de los argentinos es que están muy orgullosos de dónde provienen. Nuestra anfitriona nos había escrito una semblanza de Buenos Aires: de su origen, de su cultura, de sus matices, de sus cosas […]. Eso nos habla del orgullo y la alegría que una persona siente al hablar de su país y al querer transmitirlo a seres humanos de otras culturas. Después conocimos varias cosas que hacen felices a los argentinos: los deportes ecuestres (cómo el pato y el polo); el futbol (tuvimos la fortuna de asistir a un juego del River Plate vs Rosario, dónde atestiguamos la pasión de las famosas barras argentinas); y nos recordaron la importancia de la familia compartiendo los domingos a la mesa, disfrutando de un buen asado.

Pablo, our host and famous blogger asked the people in Argentina via his blog, Unblogged, what he should get us to eat. 95% said ASADO! Argentinian barbecue! Yeah! Thank you Pablo!

We just played a traditional sport of Argentina. It's like polo except you throw a ball around and score through a hoop. It used to be played with a live duck back in the day... Thank god that's not the case any more! 
It's the most fun I've ever had playing a sport! The adrenaline rush you get when you have the ball in one hand and the reins in the other and you canter ahead with the goal in view... It's exhilarating!

Aterrizamos en el aeropuerto más alto de todo el mundo “El Alto”. Nos encontrábamos en una de las ciudades, La Paz, más altas del mundo. Al salir del aeropuerto nos recibieron nuestros anfitriones y algo de lo que nos dimos cuenta es de lo amables y parsimoniosos que son los bolivianos. Quizás sean rasgos propios de personas que viven en un lugar tan alto… pero de alguna manera cuándo uno está con esta gente se siente tranquilo. En poco tiempo aprenderíamos que así cómo ocurre con su geografía, Bolivia es un país de muchos contrastes y en dónde todavía la población indígena mantiene sus usos y costumbres. En este misterioso y apasionante país conocimos historias de felicidad por parte de seres humanos que nos hicieron remontarnos a un pasado más sencillo, más en sintonía con la naturaleza. Sus historias de felicidad nos dieron la esperanza de que podemos hacer las cosas bien y que todo puede ser mucho más sencillo de lo que estamos dispuestos a creer. El recordatorio fue que a veces con muy poco se logra mucho.

Estando en Perú tuvimos la fortuna de hacer parapente sobre la única ciudad costera de Sudamérica. Sobrevolando la ciudad de Lima -tal cómo lo hacen los famosos gallinazos- me puse a pensar en la gente de esta hermosa e histórica ciudad. Mientras recorríamos las calles de su centro histórico, el malecón y alguno que otro mercado, conocimos a varias personas que estuvieron dispuestos a compartirnos sus perspectivas respecto de la felicidad y a preguntarnos respecto de las nuestras. Conocimos desde el extranjero que llegó a Perú hace muchos años y se enamoró del país y se quedó a vivir allí; pasando por la persona de un mercado que para hacer feliz a algún desconocido estaría dispuesto a compartir sus alimentos; hasta conocer a una invaluable mujer que, tras haber sufrido una pérdida familiar, se ha encargado de salir adelante y transformar su pérdida en una lucha positiva que ayuda y contribuye a la salud y la felicidad de otras personas. Hasta luego, Perú.

Si je pouvais choisir un super pouvoir ce serait de voler. J'adore toute activité qui s'y rapproche. Le parapente c'est de loin le meilleur! Le sentiment de liberté est unique! Quelle façon magnifique de découvrir la ville de Lima! En tout cas la vue était superbe de la haut!